Used by some Republican senators as a rallying cry against the confirmation of new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, her controversial “wise Latina” comment is now being proclaimed by proud supporters as a rallying cry for the continuing progress of women in the workplace.

The now well-worn phrase is being worn, literally, by a number of individuals on T-shirts, reports the New York Times. It is also featured in a number of new blogs and Facebook groups.

“I related greatly to it because you have to be really wise to wake up in the morning and go to school and work and come home and not get involved in the negative things in your neighborhood,” says Sharitza Lopez. The 24-year-old New Yorker attends college and works as a legal assistant while also raising a 2-year-old son in the Bronx, where Sotomayor grew up.